“It looks like no one can recognise the weapons,” Alnea said, bringing everyone’s attention back to himself. “And if my guess is right, no one should be able to recognise the flowers either.”
“…Did you figure out something?”
“It is just a guess,” Alnea said, before turning back towards the shivering yellow robed Wanderer. “Where are the symbols that your Captain asked you to carve?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Do you need any help to jolt your memory?”
“I really don’t know!” the man said, almost in a scream, backing away from the statue. “It was right there… on the tree… and around it… on the ground… all around us… but it’s gone… everything is gone…”
“…Yuri,” Alnea said, as he turned away from the man breaking down in hysteria, glancing at the forest around them. Moments later, he stopped hearing the man’s scream. Not because the man was dead, of course. He had not grown ruthless enough to kill a defenceless man. Especially one who had just suffered from a mental trauma. Though if the man could not bring his emotions back under his control before his Aspects and Mysteries backlashed, he would probably end up dead anyway. And so would the rest of his teammates.
No, Yuri just gagged the man’s mouth with ropes condensed from fog, giving Alnea the peace he needed to think. He did not doubt the man’s words. After all, Yuri had used her Arcana to check if the man was lying. He was not. His team really did carve some strange symbols around the tree. So, where did those symbols go? Erased by the forest as it healed itself?
Probably not. At the very least, they should have been there when the Witherstones sacrificed Oren Beasts. It did not make sense for those symbols to suddenly fail in withstanding the erosion of the forces healing the forest. So, the symbols vanished in the time that the Witherstones were controlled by their Captain. Was it because those symbols had already fulfilled their purpose, or because the one who had carved them was dead?
No, it was not just the ruthless yellow robed bastard who had carved those symbols. His teammates should have also helped. Then, it could only mean than that the symbols had completed their purpose. Which meant…
“Can you still understand what I am saying?” Alnea said, turning around, and squatting next to the man shaking hysterically on the ground. “Do you want to live? If yes, then nod your head. Otherwise, I will take it that you want to become Oren Beast feed.”
The man was still shaking in fear, but the thought of being fed to Oren Beasts helped him gather his courage and nod his head.
“Let him speak.”
In the next moment, the rope gagging the man’s mouth vanished, dissipating into the fog around them, that had begun slowly returning back to its original state.
“Who carved the symbols around the statue?”
“…All of us. There were so many symbols… And it drained most of our Spirit Power to carve just one of them… That’s why Raaz asked us to help him.”
“Do you remember those symbols?”
“…I… It’s all so hazy… I remember carving them, but I cannot recall what I carved…”
“…When you sacrificed those Oren Beasts, did those symbols show any changes?”
“…I don’t remember?”
“Then try to remember.”
“…I… I don’t know…”
“…When you buried the statue, was it bleeding?”
“No,” the man said, vehemently shaking his head. “Although the statue was eerie back then too, it was not bleeding. Just…”
“Just what?”
“…Whenever we touched the statue, we would hear it whisper. None of us could understand what it was trying to say, but we were sure that it was whispering. Almost as if it was trying to lure us…”
“And yet, you still sacrificed Oren Beasts to the statue.”
“…We told Raaz about it, but he said that we did not have to worry about it. That it was just our imagination.”
“And you believed him?”
“…We…”
“…Forget it,” Alnea said, shaking his head, as he stood up, before glancing at Fran, Aren, Zain, and Ralph. “Send the Witherstones out of the Final World.”
Fran clenched his fists, but did not question his order. Neither did the other Star Seekers. Though Zain did grumble about how he had to do everything. Still, he listened to his Captain, dragging the man tied on the ground back to his teammates with Fran, Aren and Ralph, leaving the rest of the Star Seekers next to the eerie statue. Yet, it was not until they came back that the Star Seekers began their discussion.
Stolen story; please report.
“The statue is probably a Heterodox Artifact,” Karl said, staring solemnly at the statue.
“That much is obvious,” Zain said. “Heterodoxies and sacrifices always go hand in hand.”
“Then those Witherstones—
“Were probably controlled even before they came to the Final World,” Vestia said. “It is just that they still had some semblance of consciousness, which led to their conflict with their Captain when he wanted to sacrifice Wanderers. And you know the rest of the story.”
“…So, the only one who was truly a Heterodox Wanderer was their Captain.”
“And the Dark Priests.”
“Right. I almost forgot about them.”
“I knew it. Those lunatics have been suspicious from the very beginning.”
“Are they not scared of being found out?”
“That is probably the reason why they took the risk of coming to the Final World.”
“Or, maybe the reason why they took the risk of coming to the Lost City has always been the Final World.”
“…That’s impossible,” Vestia said, shaking her head. “Although the Final World has been in the possession of the Lost City for over a decade, it was only in the last few months that its news was revealed to the rest of the world. Long after the Dark Priests came to the city.”
“…Still, the statues suggests that they have a purpose in coming to the Final World.”
“Maybe whatever they are after has been shifted to the Final World…”
“Like me.”
“…We don’t know yet—
“Two different group of Heterodox Wanderers invading a country at the same time… Coincidences like that don’t happen often.”
“But they do happen from time to time.”
“…For now, it would be best if we proceed assuming that they are looking for me,” Alnea said to Yuri, before addressing the rest of his teammates, bringing their attention back to himself.
“For a minute, let us assume that the Dark Priests do indeed have a purpose in coming to the Final World. Maybe they are here to conduct a ritual, or maybe they are searching for something. But what does that have to do with us?”
“…You are right. As long as we kill them, all their plans would be for nought,” Fran said, not caring about the emotions tainting his voice. Though he did consciously control his Aspects to not overflow from their Aspect Wells.
“If we find them, that is,” Alnea said, reminding Fran about their situation. “Right now, our focus is still on the Final Trial. Especially since the Dark Priests do not know that we know their secrets. Searching for them would only alert them, and make them wary of our movements. Of course, if we come across them, or their other collaborators, then there is no need for us to hold back.”
“…About that,” Yuri said. “Do you remember the first group of Wanderers we came across after coming to the Final World?”
“…The Greenshields?”
“I think they may also be one of the collaborators of the Dark Priests.”
“Now that you mention it… they did hide something in their base camp.”
“…It is not just them,” Karl said. “There were a few other suspicious clans…”
“…Just how many clans did the Dark Priests rope in their nefarious plans?”
“…What if the Lotus clan—
“No,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “The Lotus clan may have their own schemes, but they should not have anything to do with the Heterodoxies.”
“Why—
“The incident in Anneve is too recent,” Cecilia said, answering for Alnea. “Vile as they may be, they are still an Orthodoxy. They have their own pride.”
“We can discuss the Lotus clan later,” Yuri said. “Right now, we have to decide how to deal with this statue.”
“From its state, it looks like it has already fulfilled its purpose. Taking it away with us should not affect the Dark Priests’ plans. On the contrary, it will only make it seem as if we are the Heterodox Wanderers. But we cannot just leave it be either. Especially since we do not know what exactly it is for…”
“…How about we just destroy it?” Cecilia said, and with unanimous rejection.
“It is a Heterodox Artifact…”
“Who knows what kind of Mysteries it is imbued with…”
“Messing with it would be the worst possible thing we could do.”
“Unless we know its exact effects…”
“We would not have been having this conversation if we knew its effects, would we?”
“…None of you have any better way to deal with it, do you? Why not just follow my plan and destroy it once and for all?”
“Because it would be too dangerous.”
“…I think I may have a way to safely destroy the statue,” Vestia said, drawing everyone’s attention to herself. “But it will probably hasten the progress of whatever the Dark Priests are trying to achieve.”
“…That’s not a good idea,” Yuri said, stealing a glance at Alnea, only for the latter to shake his head after some thought.
“On the contrary, I think it is a very good idea.”
“…Do you want them to find you?” Yuri said to Alnea through their rings, but received her answer out loud.
“The statue has already fulfilled its purpose,” Alnea said, shrugging his shoulders. “Their plans would succeed whether we destroy it or not. If we do destroy it though, hastening the completion of their plans would catch them off guard. And we would also be able to get rid of some unnecessary troubles.”
“If you put it like that…”
“Alright, it’s decided,” Alnea said. “I will leave the statue to you, Vestia. Just be careful to not hurt yourself. As for everyone else… Learning that we may have to face some Heterodox Wanderers next may come as a shock to some of you, and a pleasant surprise to a few, but you cannot let what is in front of you distract you from your ultimate goal.
“Like I said before, our focus should still be on completing our Trial. We have already explored around three fourth of the area we have to cover. Let’s cover the rest as soon as possible. Of course, we cannot just ignore the dangers on our path either. The more the area we cover, the greater our chances of encountering them would become. Thus, we must always be ready to face the Dark Priests… and the Lotus clan.”
